The end of an era: Brian’s closes

Nov. 17, 2014

by Rod Lee

There is no calculating in dollars or by any other means of measurement what the loss of Brian’s Restaurant, which closed its doors on Sunday night, October 19th, means to the town of Northbridge and the village of Linwood.Brian Snay’s eating and drinking establishment was not just the only pub-style family dining venue of its kind for miles around, it was in a real sense the glue that held a tight-knit neighborhood together.

“It was a sad day because you get to know the people. They’re like family,” Tom Berkowitz of Northbridge said. Mr. Berkowitz owns Berkowitz Trucking. He and his wife Jeanne were Thursday-night regulars at Brian’s for fifteen years “and we had company Christmas parties there,” he said. “My grandson put a note on the placemat the other night for our waitress (Mary Ann Palumbo). It said ʽsee you later.’”

Asked where he will go now for what he described as “home cooking, comfort food,” Mr. Berkowitz said “nowhere.” Then, “well, I guess the Cape. There’s a place, Jake Rooney’s, in Harwich, that offers the same kind of food.”

With a dining room, a large function room, a long bar (in which old photos of Northbridge were inset) and companion lounge, a free salad bar featuring homemade soups and bread, a diverse menu (the prime rib was some of the best to be found), affordable fare, coin shows, nightly specials, an ideal location on Providence Rd. (Rt. 122) and ample parking, Brian’s attracted people from near and far. Many showed up during the restaurant’s last week of operation to wish Mr. Snay well (he will continue running the food service at the Whitinsville Golf Club while considering other options).

As the clock ticked down the final hours on that last Sunday evening, cheers were mixed with congratulations on eighteen years in business.

Interviewed a few mornings later while cleaning up the restaurant after the raucous last bash, Mr. Snay could hardly contain his disappointment while acknowledging that, financially, it wasn’t feasible to continue. He leaves behind nearly forty years in the restaurant business, the first twenty of which were as a cook at the Cocke ‘n Kettle in Uxbridge (also now closed).

“I probably hung on longer than I should have,” he said. “These days a lot of people head to the chains…movies, shopping, dinner.” Plus, he said, “my menu had a lot of high-ticket items which you don’t see in chains but those pull down the profit.”

Mr. Snay’s most vivid memories will always be of his customers and his employees. A sandwich-board sign in the doorway of the restaurant after it closed carried the message “Thanks to all for the many good times.”“I had a lot of good waitresses,” he said. “I hope it turns over fast and they can get back to work (the restaurant was for sale as of late October).

“I did great for years because we had the volume. I’m sad it ended but we had a good run. Ihope for the landlord’s sake she gets someone in and they can be here for fifteen to twentyyears like I was.”

Generous to all, Mr. Snay gave a framed artwork depicting a Brian’s Restaurant like his Brian’sto Linwood Postmaster Marcus Seedhom for display in the lobby of the post office.

Mr. Seedhom is new to Linwood and had frequented Brian’s several times. He was there theSunday afternoon the place closed.

“This was a historic moment and I wanted to be there,” he said. “It reminded me of Slattery’s inFitchburg where a lot of the schoolteachers ate.”

As chants of “Brian” rose and a crowd gathered around him just before closing time, Mr. Snaysoaked up the adulation.

“I thought I was going to have to make a speech,” he said. “I don’t like giving speeches.”

Rod Lee is a long-time local writer and observer of the Blackstone Valley scene and the currentpresident of the Webster Square Business Association in Worcester. His most recent book isNance’s Nook, a comic tale based on life at a small convenience store in Linwood. Email him at[email protected]

Serving local business for 40 years. Now mailed to 69,000 individual homes and businesses each month in four editions: First Friday of every month: Charlton, Dudley, Oxford, Webster; second Friday of every month: Douglas, Mendon, Northbridge, Uxbridge; Third Friday of every month: Auburn, Oxford, Webster; fourth Friday of every month: Grafton, Millbury, Sutton, Upton. More than 90,000 copies distributed every month. Pick up your free copy or visit us here!